CRICHTON SAT ON A LARGE ROCK, LOOKING OUT AT THE SEEMINGLY-ENDLESS EXPANSE OF OCEAN.
The water was remarkably clear and he could easily see to depths impossible on Earth. He watched shoals of brightly-coloured though vicious-looking fish dart here and there.
He'd been sitting on his rock for three-quarters of an arn and had seen some pretty amazing animals, none more than the one that looked to be as big as Moya with a mouth armed with the most impressive array of teeth he'd ever seen. Even a good distance away, it still took a good ten minutes to go by, in no hurry.
There were no birds. It was a little strange to be by the sea and not hear anything resembling a seagull. There were insects instead. Huge ones. He watched one warily that had landed beside him a few moments past, hoped to hell it wasn't anything like a mosquito for it was easily the size of a barn owl. It had darted off on some mission of its own a few moments later and he was glad to see it go, hand coming off his pistol.
D'Argo and Chiana were roaming the little settlement, at a suggestion from D'Argo about checking for supplies, just in case, and Rygel was sleeping in the pod. Jool had been weighed down with containers and rods and mops and brooms – and she was now cleaning everything in sight. She was far – far – from happy.
Crichton had just wandered the shoreline. He'd finally found this rock that jutted into the water, sat down and tried to Zen himself out, just listening to the waves, watching the fish.
He heard her coming long before she said anything. He'd smelled her on the breeze. Miriya smelled like an subtly-pleasing mixture of strawberries and something darkly red. His mind flashed briefly to the Sebacean women he remembered – Gilina had smelled of oranges and honeysuckle. Jenavian Charto had smelled like a subtle cedar mixed with exotic spices. Katralla had a scent of orchids and lavender undertones. What was it about Sebacean women that their natural scents smelled like they were all wearing expensive perfume?
"Am I intruding?" She finally asked him.
"Yeah. Problem?"
Miriya stepped out on the rock spire with him, sat next to him uninvited, turned a smile on.
"Not that I'm aware of. You interest me."
Crichton shot her a flat smile.
"I'm not exceptional."
Miriya got comfortable.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I'd say the life of John Crichton is pretty exceptional – if what I've heard is true."
He shrugged. She just laughed.
"Come on – it wasn't that hard to deduce – Joolushko did call you 'Crichton'. Pretty simple. What's the bounty up to now? Last I heard it was 10 million."
His reply was one of utter unconcern.
"Twenty-five."
Miriya just laughed again.
"Not bad." She gazed out at the water. "Not that I'd try for it. I don't give a retsit's ass about any of that dren. I do pretty well for myself. I'm a tech and damn proud of it."
She shifted a bit, swung her long legs up, sat looking at him like she was just out to catch some sun.
"So – that son of your Leviathan you mentioned – that's the gunship hybrid, isn't it?"
Crichton just looked back out to sea.
"Yeah."
"I'd love to have a look at him. I bet he's amazing."
"He's a good kid," Crichton said.
"What's his problem?"
Crichton picked up a loose rock and flipped it into the water. It almost seemed to bounce before it sank.
"Neural degeneration. A Retrieval Squad got a hold of him and started severing connections to his higher functions. It's just patchwork at the moment."
"Sounds bad."
"Bad enough."
She nodded, looked out to sea as another one of those massive creatures he'd seen early slowly swam past. Or it might have been the same one, just turned around.
"I think Abbanerex can help him."
"How would you know?"
She shrugged with her eyebrows.
"I work there. Well, sometimes. If I get a contract."
Crichton shifted on the rock.
"You know where it is?"
"Sure. You didn't ask." She added, pre-empting him. "Besides – I like watching Interions squirm." Crichton couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"There you go," she said. "You're much better-looking when you smile."
"I sure am."
Miriya stood, rolled her shoulders and stretched like a cat.
"Tell you what – if you can find some room on your Leviathan for me and my ship – I'll tell you how to get to Abbanerex – and we can both watch your Interion squirm."
Crichton looked up at her, the interesting planes of a well-cared-for female body above him. He stood with one motion and walked off the rock, hitting his comm as he went. Miriya followed him.
"D'Argo – how are you doing?"
"Not so well, John. Apparently most Interions are only slightly more tolerable than Jool."
"Doesn't matter. We don't have to depend on Jool to get the location any longer. I found another source. How are you for giving somebody a lift?"
"Whom?"
Miriya leaned over, spoke into Crichton's comm, glancing up at him with that seemingly-perpetual smile as she did so. Her eyes were a deep purple.
"The new love of Crichton's life," she said, eyes sparkling.
"Ah." D'Argo came back dryly. "As long as she doesn't make a mess."
Miriya laughed lightly, stepped back.
"Frell knows when Jool's done. Maybe she'll learn some humility. You guys may as well relax."
"Alright, John. We'll meet you back at the pod."
"Right."
Miriya turned, started walking.
"A Luxan with a sense of humour. They're usually so dour. I might like him."
"D'Argo's not just any Luxan." Crichton said, coming up beside her.
"So I gather. Well, none of you are 'just any' anything now, are you?" She stopped, regarded him. "Do you swim?"
He glanced out to sea, at the thing with many teeth still on its way by.
"In that?"
"There's a lagoon on the other side of the island – only little fish. Too shallow for that." She cocked her hip at him, swayed away. "Or you could sit around looking morose. Up to you." She walked off.
Crichton watched that sway, inhaled, then followed.
HE'D BEEN IDLY WONDERING WHAT A SEBACEAN BIKINI LOOKED LIKE, DECIDED THAT IT DIDN'T REALLY MATTER.
He'd been stripping down to his shorts to enter the lagoon. Miriya just pulled off her entire outfit, underwear and all and stood there un-self-consciously watching him. He blinked, abruptly reminded that he had testosterone. Lots of it.
She was toned and well-muscled, everything exactly where it belonged and extremely-well put together. Her skin was flawless save for a small crescent moon-shaped birthmark on her left breast. She tied up her thick hair and his mouth went dry.
"Don't worry, the water's not cold," was all she said.
He stood there a moment longer, a large part of his brain freezing in sheer admiration. He shook himself internally, got a grip on himself.
He had nothing to be embarrassed about. Different cultures, different standards. Who gives a crap? No division of labour in Sebacean society and Peacekeepers didn't give a crap about nudity. Besides…
He was single. Unattached.
Crichton just pulled everything off, piled it and said, "After you.", not missing the appreciative look she sent him. He'd worked rather hard these last six monen. He was probably in the best shape of his life – which he planned to improve on.
Score one for the Creature.
Miriya walked a short way into the water, up to her knees, dove, began stroking out. Crichton couldn't see a single flaw anywhere, decided he'd just look, and if she resented it, she wasn't shy enough not to tell him so.
"So – bit of a way out for you, isn't it? This colony?"
The water was slightly heavier than he was used to, felt thicker – his buoyancy greater.
"Favour for a friend," she said, turning over and emulating him. Crichton watched that body swim for a few moments, then decided to watch the sky. "Just a standard run – they couldn't spare anyone. I live in the Ogg'M'nendi system and it's on the way. I was on my way back to Abbanerex actually."
"Get those skills where?" He asked nonchalantly. "Carrier?"
She blinked, paused.
"Not all Sebaceans are Peacekeepers. I was born on Verakalos, Sebacean Rim Colony. When I was nine cycles, I was placed in a local university to learn a trade. I like machines, so a tech I became and am - the best going." She winked at him, rolled over her on her side, still stroking languidly through the waves.
"What machines?"
"Ships." At his questioning look, she continued. "Any ship. I specialize in what I like to call 'hybridization'. I make new ships from disparate old ships. I make them new. Better. I design them scratch and build them. I customize. I innovate."
"I'm sold," he said, "I'll take two."
Miriya rolled her eyes, realizing she'd sounded like a sales pitch.
"Well, I'm damn good, anyway."
She squeaked suddenly. Something had grabbed her toe, held on. Crichton motioned her to stop, swam over as she hoisted a leg out of the water. A small iridescent critter that resembled a cross between a shrimp and a crab had a good grip, wriggling for all it was worth. He pinched it between his fingers, extricated it. He examined it then tossed it far away back into the water.
"Thanks. Little buggers." She stuck her toe at him. "It didn't take a chunk with it, did it?"
He grasped her foot, looked at her toe. Except for a little scrape it was fine. He rubbed it with his thumb.
"Nope. Everything still where it was."
"Good. Blood will bring ten thousand of the little biters and that can be a different story."
They went back to swimming lazily back toward the shore.
"Damned good, you said."
"I can fix anything. I can build anything."
He was silent for a moment, then he smiled his flat smile.
"Anything."
Miriya just shrugged.
"Most things."
Crichton stopped, a cramp stiffening his leg. He might have been more buoyant, but the planet's gravity made the going harder.
Miriya stopped, started swimming around him as he rubbed it out.
"Your life has got to be more interesting than mine, though. You're not Sebacean."
"No." And I'll bet your life is more interesting than you let on.
"Are you sure that your people aren't some ancient offshoot?"
That was a question he'd never been asked before.
"Pretty sure."
Miriya seemed to be circling in closer as she spoke.
"Oh. It's an amazing coincidence then. You can't really tell the difference, just looking at you."
"I've been told you can." He said wryly, remembering other comments in the past.
"There are some, certainly." She came very close to him, stroked a hand across his back. "You're definitely warmer, you smell differently. Not bad, just different,"
She came sniffing around the front, close enough to slide her breasts over his chest. He tried to decide whether that was intentional or not, chose 'didn't care.'
"Blue eyes. Maybe one-in-a-billion Sebaceans have blue eyes." She smiled. "Even I'm a bit of a rarity. Purple ones. Not regulation at all."
Crichton smiled his dry smile back as she continued to circle him.
"'Rarity' is a good word for you."
Miriya had come back to the front, drew up very close, her intentions unmistakable.
"Thank you." she purred, voice a little husky. "I'm a firm believer in using time profitably. Are Humans?" Her hands were on his lower back, slowly moving down.
"Humans have nothing against it," he said, making a mental note, his hands already on very firm flesh, her skin smooth and cool. His hands roamed over it, enjoying it. Miriya must have liked it, because she just smiled her enormous smile and let him. She was doing some roaming of her own.
He then made the mistake of glancing toward shore. On it stood a large Luxan and slim grey girl - waving at him.
"Their friends, though, have really lousy timing." He said, pointing past her. She looked, sighed, but the eyes she turned back to him still had a gleam in them. She pushed away from him, began swimming back to shore.
"It's at least three solar days to Hogatha Primus. That's the planet Abbanerex orbits." She said over her shoulder, the purr still there.
Crichton ducked his head under the water to cool it off, came up, shook it.
Humans and their friends. Right.
He followed.
